Combination dovetail and lock keeper



Nov. 22, 1938. w. c. DEVEREAUX COMBINATION DOVETAIL AND LOCK KEEPERFiled Aug. 30, 1935 INVENTOR. fi zllz'am C. Jere/e4 0,:

fat 9 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nev. 22, 1938 a 2,137,271 V COMBINATION ,DOVETAIL ANnLocK EEPERA I r 7 William C. Devcreauzr.'Detr oit y l, it Applicationhugusttll,1'93'5,Serial No. 38,583 A I, l. Iii-7 ,5.)

-"I'he present invention relates to doordovetails and door lock keepers,and aprincipal object thereof is the combination in a single structureof 'adovetail and lock keeper.- V

5 Further objects of the present invention includethe provision of acombination door dovetailand door lock keeper arranged to positivelyprevent relative vertical movement between a door and a supporting body;which will guide the door into locking position and securely hold itfrom rattling when closed in such position; which is constructedentirely of non-perishable parts,

thus insuringa long and efficient life; which is of relatively narrowdimensions thus adapting it for 15. use upon a relatively thin doorpost; and in which afminimum of resistance is offered by the unit tothe. closing and opening movements of the door.

.It is a furtherobject of the pre sent invention 2 0 to provide acombined door dovetail and door lock keeper comprising generally a doorlock keeper and a. cooperating dovetail member," and a connectionbetween them, comprising one or more nongresilient but slidablysupportedblocks. 4 It ..is a further object ofrthe present invention to provide astructure as last stated in which the door lockkeeper constitutes thewedge member of a dovetail, and one or more non-resilientbut slidablysupported blocks are interposed between the keeper and a cooperatingfemale dovetail member.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide aconstruction as above stated in which the distance traveled by theblocks is less than the distance traveled by the entering lock keeperduring a closing movement of the door.

It is further. object of the present invention to provide a,construction as above stated, in which the block engaging walls of thekeeper are rearwardly convergent and in which the block orblocks arecomplementarily formed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide aconstruction as above stated, in which the walls of the female dovetailmember are rearwardly convergent and in which the blocks are.complementarily formed. 1

It is a furthefobject of the present invention to provide a construction-as' above stated in 50 which the blocks are resiliently andslidably'sup ported upon the keeper. I

It is a furtherobject of the present invention to provide a combineddoor dovetail anddoor lock keeper which may be economically manufacturedand readily assembled. and comprises die cast lock keeper and blocks,and pressed metal I cooperating dovetail parts. w l r Other objects-and:advantages of the present invention appear in'the followingdescription and inithe appended claim.:

In thgaccompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention and throughout the several views. of whichcorresponding reference characters designate corresponding partsr 1 Fig.1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of the presentinvention to an automobile -door and body;

Fig. 2 is a view in horizontal section taken along the line 2-4 of Fig.l, and illustrating the relation of the parts in the doorclosedposition;

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of i I Fig. 4 isa View invertical sectiontaken along the line l-4 of Fig. 3;- I 7 Fig.5 is :aview in elevation, taken along the line-5-5,, of 'Fig. 4; and

I Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section taken along theline6-6 of Fig. 4.

, Consideringthe invention in detail, and referring to the drawing, the.lock keeper if], the outer surface of whichis formed so as to providethe two spaced bolt engaging faces I2 and I4, and the intermediatesloping surfaces l6 and i8, is rigidly secured to the body frame members22 and 24 which define a door post of the illustrative automobile body26, by studs 20 which are threaded into bosses 2|. The heads of thestuds 20, as best seen in Fig. 4, are countersunk below the surface ofthekeeper Ii). As will be understood, keeper i0 cooperates" with a bolt28, whichmay be associatedwith any. conventional type of door lock, andwhich bears against face I2 of keeper 10, when the door is in a closedpositiornand similarly bears against the keeper face M to provide aconventional safety catch for the doorQ-During a closing movement of thedoor, as will be understood, bolt.28 is cammed inwardly by the slopingsurfaces It! and I6,,and is normally. urged to the position illustratedin Fig. 2 by suitable spring mechanism (not shown).

Aspreviously mentioned, lock keeper It also acts as a male dovetailmember and for'this purpose, the lateralfaccs 30 and 32 thereof are eachformed substantially perpendicularly to the supporting surface 'forkeeper I0, and are convergent in the direction ofthe-closing movementofv the door.

The female member jofcthe dovetailcomprises N T .0 F FicE 1* f iii themetal stamping 36. Dovetail 36 is formed with a substantially planemid-section 38 and the two oifset end sections 40. The mid-section 38 ischannel shaped in cross section and each of the end sections aregenerally cup shaped in cross section and have the substantially linearinner faces 42, which are convergent from right to left as viewed inFig. 3. Dovetail 36 is rigidly supported upon the panel 4 Lwhich forms apart of the door 46 by the studs 48, the heads of which are countersunkin openings 50 struck in the surface of the mid portion 38, and theshanks of which are threadably received in bosses 52 formed in panel 44.It will be evident, accordingly, that dovetail 36 forms a generally U-shaped. housing, the legs of which are represented by surfaces 42,within which the male member or lock keeper Ill and the two cooperatingsliding blocks 56 are received.

Each of the blocks 56, which are positioned respectively on oppositesidesof keeper l6, and. form a connection between keeper l and dovetail86, are generally rectangular in cross section, as seen in Fig. 4. Theouter surface 58 of each block 56 is complementaryito and disposed forengagement by the faces 42 of dovetail 36. The inner surfaces 60 of theblocks 56 are generally complementary to the convergent faces 32 of lockkeeper I0, but are curved somewhat, to permit proper action of theassembly even though the door and body are slightly out of alignment, asdescribed in more detail hereinafter.

The blocks 56 are each supported upon, but in sliding relation to, lockkeeper H) by the pair of stamped metal elements 62 and 64. Support 62 isof a shape corresponding generally to that of lock keeper l0, and isprovided with the oppositely disposed, upwardly struck lugs 66, whichcooperate with corresponding recesses 68 in each of the blocks 56, toguide the movements of the latter. It will be noted that a recess 68 iscut in each side of each block 56, so that the blocks areinterchangeable.

The supporting stamping 64 is formed to define a linear mid section '12,the legs 14, and the end sections 15. The legs 14 and end sections 15support two of the faces of each of the blocks 56. The spacing betweenthe legs 14 corresponds to the width of lock keeper [0, and the faces 14are complementary to the faces 30 32 of keeper l0. Portions 76 ofsupporting member 64 are also bent around to form an enclosure for oneend of each of the blocks 56, as best seen in Fig. 6. Each of thesupports 62 and 64 are rigidly secured to the back of lock keeper ID bythe previously mentioned studs 26, and lie behind the shoulder 18 formedat the edge of lock keeper In as best seen in Figs. 2 and 5.

Each of the blocks 56 is provided with a bore 86, which receives andacts as a seat for one end of an associated compression spring 8|, theother end of which is seated upon a tab 84 struck inwardly from theupwardly struck lugs 70 at the rear edge of the support 62. Tabs 16,also pass through corresponding openings in support 64 to retain the twostampings in assembled relation.

As will be understood, the springs 8| bias blocks 56 to the positionillustrated in Fig. 6, in which 1 position, each tab 66 engages one endof the guiding recess 68 formed in the corresponding block. The otherextreme position of each block 56, as will be understood, is determinedby the engagement of tabs 66 with the other end of the correspondingrecesses 68.

It will be seen, accordingly, that each of the i the associated springs8|.

blocks 56 is supported for sliding movement parallel to the rearwardlyconvergent faces 30 of lock keeper Ill between the above mentionedlimits, and is supported in proper position transversely of lock keeperH] by the supporting stamping 62 and the legs 15 of the supportingstamping 64. The compression springs 8|, and the tabs 66 associated withsupport 62, also serve to support blocks 56 and maintain the curvedfaces 60 thereof in engagement with the cooperating leg sections 14 ofthe support 64.

With reference to the operation of the unit as a whole, a closingmovement of door 46 causes dovetail 36 to move to the right with respectto lock keeper l6 and blocks 56, as viewed in Fig. 3, in whichtheseparts are illustrated in the final or completely closed position. Duringthe course of this movement, as previously mentioned, the lock bolt 28is cammed inwardly along the lock keeper surfaces l8 and I6 respectivelyuntil it finally passes over the bolt engaging face l2 and finallyoccupies the position shown in Fig. 2. The relation of these parts issuch that during the time that bolt 28 is in engagement with the slopingface l8 of lock keeper ID, the faces 42 of the dovetail 36 engage thecooperating outer surfaces 58 of the slidable blocks 56, which at thetime are biased to their extreme left hand positions (Fig. 6) by Furtherclosing movement of the door and of dovetail 36 is accompanied by acorresponding inward movement of the blocks 56, caused by the engagementjust mentioned. Because of the converging character of faces 36 of lockkeeper I6, however, the inward movement of block 56 is less than themovement of dovetail 36. With this arrangement, accordingly, anddepending upon the degree of convergency of the faces 30, a relativelylarge closing movement of dovetail 36 may be accompanied by a relativelysmall movement of the blocks 56.

The springs 8| oppose the forward motion of the blocks 56 and maintainthe faces 58 and 66 thereof continuously in engagement with thecooperating faces 42 and 14. Throughout the closing movement,accordingly, the door 46 is continuously' supported in a predeterminedvertical position with respect to the door post 24 by the continuousrigid support afforded by dovetail 36, Jolocks 56 and lock keeper Ill.The dovetail connection automatically accommodates itself to wearing inof the parts, since the only effect of such wear is to modify the pointin the closing movement at which the initial engagement of the partsoccur. Thereafter, the action is unchanged by such wear. The operationof the unit is also unaifected by changes in the vertical positioningbetween the door 46 and the post 24. Any such change, it will be noted,for example a raising of door 46 with respect to post 24, simplyadvances the point in the closing movement at which the lower block 56is engaged, and postpones the point in the closing movement at which theupper block 56 is engaged. After such engagement, however, the operationis as above described. The curved surfaces 60 of block 56 alsoaccommodate the unit and provide correct operation even though the doorbecomes twisted with respect to post 24, thus changing the angle betweenfaces 42' of dovetail 36 and the faces 30 of lock keeper l0. Any suchtwisting results merely in a partial rotation of the blocks 56 on theirfaces 60 with respect to the supporting surfaces 14.

In the practice of the illustrated embodiment of the present invention,the unit has been found to opening movement. The construction of theblocks 56 and of the supporting faces therefor is such that these partsmove freely. with respect to the other. If desired, also, ananti-friction bearing relation between the blocks and the cooperatingsurfaces of the parts may be provided, as disclosed in the Ball PatentNo. 1,842,373, granted January 26, 1932, in which the blocks areprovided with rollers, which r011, along the cooperating surfaces.

It will be evident from the foregoing that the combined dovetail andlock keeper of the present invention provides, in a single unit, adevice for effecting cooperation with the usual automobile door lock,and a device to positively and reliably prevent rattling of the door andprevent vertical movement thereof with respect to the supporting post.The illustrated unit, being formed entirely of relatively simple diecastings, and steel stampings, may be economically manufactured. The

relatively few parts promote'ready assembly of the unit.

It will be evident that various changes may be made'in the form, numberand arrangement of parts, and accordingly, the described embodiment,while representing a preferred-form of the invention, is to be regardedin an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

' What is claimed is:

A dovetail wedge member comprising a combito each block and disposed toenter the slot thereof to retain said blocks within said recesses.

WILLIAM c. DEVEREAUX.

